Summer Trips 2019 Volume I, July

2019 was a very bad year for me, possibly the worst in my memory at least as far as explorations in the mountains go. I only made it into seven lakes this year that counted for my project. I went into about twice that many total but these either didn’t drain to the Skagit or I had already been to them. The weather was extraordinarily bad. I think I only got one or two weekends where there wasn’t weather of some sort. And everything in general seemed to be a struggle this year. I could count on something going wrong on almost every endeavor I undertook. Fortunately nothing catastrophically bad happened so I really don’t have much to complain about. I was very disappointed with the progress on my high lake project though. Once again, the following posts are my largely unedited “wall of words”. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or inclination to do much editing. 

Break In Trip July 6^th

Summer starting off pretty badly. Only got one stretch of hay weather. Still waiting to get rest of hay in. Several loads of logs blew down last winter and need to get them out of the woods but waiting on machine. Don’t know when that is going to happen but might cut into time to do mountain trips later. Decided to walk Downey Creek to Bachelor Creek for break in trip. After taking kids fishing, walked from mom’s to Diobsud Creek trail and about a mile and a quarter up trail-probably about 5 plus miles total with no pack. Downey to Bachelor Creek 13.2 miles. Carried pack about 50 pounds. Made good time. Took about six and a half hours. Thighs started cramping last 2 miles. Kind of surprised. Had been working out hamstrings and these were okay. Knees hurt a little but not bad. Sound track in my head (I don’t wear ear buds): Chainsmokers and Phoebe Ryan, This Is All We Know and Chainsmokers and Coldplay, Something Just Like This and several others that I don’t remember as of this writing. Saw some camp robbers (gray jays) and a Cascades frog. Lots of birds, Swainson’s thrush, varied thrush, winter wren several woodpeckers.

Brushing Trip July 12^th

Wanted to try to get into ponds near head of Pearsall Creek again. Two previous attempts failed. Area incredibly brushy-took 5-6 hours to travel a mile or a little more in this country. Decided to take a day or two and brush out a route up Pearsall Creek in order to save some time and effort. Previous trip in 2013 physically exhausting and didn’t have mental resilience due to physical exhaustion when came to hardest part of trip and gave up pretty easily. Hoped brushed route would leave me in better shape mentally when it came to hard part. Had done break in trip weekend before so figured I should be in pretty good shape for this trip. Turned down about $640 dollars in overtime to do trip. Andy Z had told me he was interested in going and showed up at 6:00 a.m. right on time. Hope he didn’t turn down a bunch of overtime to help. I was starting to feel major effects of cold contracted from gaggle of young kids earlier in week. Started feeling sore at back of nose afternoon of day before. This day throat was getting sore and started feeling some sinus congestion and a bit of loss of concentration due to disorientation of plugged sinuses. Guts were pretty messed up too. Not much of an appetite and several bouts with diarrhea. First part of trip when I start to exert myself always feel bad, like there is no way I am going to make it. Today felt even worse, Hell warmed over. Finally got into decent rhythm. Got to first slide patch at about 9:30 a.m. and started brushing. At start not too bad, heavy ferns which are actually fairly easy to walk through except that you can’t see where your feet are and this makes it hard to walk, especially since the ground is always uneven under the vegetation and you step in holes that you can’t see occasionally. First patch of salmonberry and vine maple tougher. Small patch of timber after that and a short reprieve at about 10:30 a.m. Continued on after a short break. Now solid vine maples and very difficult. After hacking for over an hour reached spot where had to decide to go above or below large rock. Tried looking ahead but nothing in view in sea of vine maple. Decided to go below large rock and, fortunately, after a bit saw small patch of talus about 100 feet below. Took half hour or better to cut through to it. This talus connected to larger talus slope with fairly light brush between. Got to big talus patch at 1:00 p.m. and had lunch and rest. Whole time fairly uncomfortable with sinuses now well plugged and lots of pressure on them. Started back in at far side of large talus slope at 2:00 p.m. Mostly ferns again. Only got about 100 feet before forearm started cramping uncontrollably. Tried to push through it for a while but finally had to give up. Andy took over chopping duties and I took over swamping out path. Only got another 100 feet or so when left thigh cramped. Had to rest several minutes. Cramp finally let up and continued on, now paranoid that the damn thing would cramp again. In previous years had had issues with hamstrings cramping at start of season before I was fully in shape so made a point of working out hamstrings in off season this year and didn’t have any issues. Guess I have to work everything from now on. Brushed until about 3:00 p.m., through another small patch of vine maple to another talus slope. Still had several brush patches to go through to get to clear ground but all we had time for this day. Figured it would be good enough. About halfway in a little more than a mile probably. Would just have to bash through the remaining brush patches when came back in. Took about 45 minutes on the way out to cover ground that we had spent four and a half hours brushing. Stopped at creek for drink before heading rest of way out. Throat was so raw that water stung as it went down. Made to trail without issue. Walked log over Elliot Creek with no problem. Legs felt like lead but was able to maintain steady pace out. Only occasional hint of cramp here and there. By time got back to rig and started down road, ears became plugged and could barely hear anything. Got home about 6:30 p.m. After dinner lay down on couch to rest for a bit. Everything seemed fine until tried to get up after short nap. Both thighs cramped instantly. Not worst pain I have ever felt but nonetheless very intense. Interesting thing is that cramps seemed to make me hyper sensitive to cold. Window open and breeze through it cool but not cold but still caused me to shiver uncontrollably. Cramps finally passed. Took a couple of cramp pills and no more cramps. Next day though could tell that legs had been hammered day before. Don’t know if cramping due to not quite being in shape yet, or effects of cold and not drinking enough water or both.

Scouting Trip July 20^th, 21^st

Break in weather starting on Friday the 19^thso figured on being able to get rest of hay for winter during during this break. Had two days so decided to scout route we had brushed previous week. Didn’t expect to get all the way into destination ponds had been to this spot before and been cliffed out, just wanted to look again and re-evaluate. Had kicked the cold I had the week before and figured I should be in pretty good shape at this point and would be able to do trip and get back with energy to spare. Parking lot crowded on Saturday which wasn’t surprising. Made decent progress up trail but still felt a little sluggish and gross. Got to talus slopes and brushed trail a little before noon but no appetite so decided to push on. Became quite obvious that I wasn’t in shape yet to be packing full pack. Footing treacherous even in brushed areas and talus. Ground constantly shifting underfoot or stepped in holes. Talus covered with heavy growth of reindeer moss and several other species-very slick. Saw bear across valley about 100 yards away in brushy patch. It stayed in about same spot for quite a while. Heard rotten wood breaking so figured it was working a log for insects or insect larvae. This was about noon, in the middle of the day at first big patch of talus. Wrung sweat out of bandanna. Slogged on to end of brushed area. Two more bad brush patches to get through before some relatively open ground on talus and stream channels. Got through brushy patches and was really dragging. Continued on. Wore white ox gloves this time and glad for it because saved my hands quite a bit though discovered black swamp gooseberries (Ribes lacustre) thorns seemed to penetrate them pretty easily though devil’s club and salmonberry did not. Finally on the home stretch, within half to a quarter of a mile from where I planned to camp. Going up slope and had thought that as tired as I was, at least I wasn’t getting any cramps, whereupon my thighs promptly began cramping. Finally had to stop and rest for about 15 minutes. Took a couple of cramp pills. Had drunk a lot of tonic water on the way up but had apparently sweated it all out. Continued on after resting, taking care not to push too hard and made it to camp spot without any more cramps. Located water-had to go up valley about 100 yards to large snowfield. Walked a little farther to look at a possible route. Didn’t look good. Went back down and set up tent. Whole area an alluvial fan with fairly coarse rock but was able to find an excellent spot with hollow for hips and two rocks on either side of waist that kind of contained my body. Removed one larger rock in the middle and good to go. Ground cushioned by partridge foot (Luetkea pectinata) and lady fern. Excellent sleeping spot-probably one of the top ten I have ever slept in. Next morning got going at about 6:30 a.m. Legs felt okay-a little stiff but not too sore. Felt a little sluggish but chalked it up to early morning. Had pretty severe coughing fit after breakfast but seemed to be okay after. Started up toward pass. Still felt a little sluggish but figured it was just stiffness from previous day. Got to pass. Sure enough pretty much how I remembered it. Goat trail. Goat wool on brush and small trees and goat tracks in scree at bottom of rock face. Rock face was a little steeper than I was comfortable with. Had climbed many things this steep but not in the middle of nowhere with no help for miles. Studied it for while. Climbed short distance up, as far as I was comfortable and came back down, just missing pulling a large loose rock down on myself. At that point, ready to concede I would probably never get into those ponds. Plan had been to take some rock climbing lessons and re-evaluate whether I wanted to try the rock face or not. Standing right there ready to throw in towel. Didn’t want to orphan kids or make Sacha widow. Definitely not worth it. Pretty steady wind blowing-cool but not too cold. Had expected a little colder wind in morning. Started back down. Got to another stream whose channel led up to ridge opposite the one I was trying to get over. Had planned earlier on going up this channel to get better look at ridge. Google earth photos stitched together right on ridge so photos very blurry and distorted. If I could get up on opposite ridge and look, I could get more information. Debated whether I wanted to try or not. After 5 or 10 minutes running it over in my mind I decided to try. Several hundred feet up ran into spot where I would have to go through slick, steep wet spot and called it quits. Could have gotten through this spot but good chance of injury, especially coming down and judged it to, again, not be worth the risk. Started back down again. Saw another western toad. Saw one on way in this trip near confluence of Pearsall Creek and Elliot Creek. Always see western toads in this area. Got back to camp at 11:30 and realized that, no matter what I thought I should feel like, I was really tired. Feet already burning because socks I brought and changed into the night before were thread-bare and I had done a lot of side-hilling. Also realized that the stupid cold that I thought I had kicked was still in my lungs with a vengeance. I was coughing every several minutes and my head had begun to have a slight ache from it. Broke down tent and sat in spot where I slept night before. It felt really good except that the sun was getting pretty hot. Close to lunch time but didn’t have much of an appetite. Decided to go to next side stream down and eat lunch there. After lunch continued down valley. Really tired and feet and shoulders hurt. No help for it, I needed to get out that day. Worked way slowly through talus. Wasn’t looking forward to brushy areas but knew that I had enough strength and energy to get through them even though I was tired. It just wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience. Took half hour to 45 minutes to work through the first brush patch. At one point lost footing and rolled over like giant turtle with pack on my back to point where I was almost upside down. Could feel stuff starting to fall out of my pockets. Worried about losing pickup keys which were in one pocket. After a few minutes of struggling and floundering managed to right myself and continue on. Second brush patch wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. After that I was at talus patch that we had brushed to the week before. Travel much easier from this point though I was also pretty much in pure misery. Seemed like everything hurt, not excruciating but low level discomfort everywhere. Stopped at next big talus patch to get a drink and decided to check thermometer. Thermometer said temperature was over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Thought reading might be a little on the high side because it was in the top of my pack which was made of black fabric and was exposed to direct sunlight and thermometer wasn’t greatest to start with. At any rate, it was still pretty hot, especially since the early summer had been so cool I hadn’t had a chance to acclimate my body to hotter weather. No help for any of that so continued on. Mind was on reaching the trail and ultimately my rig when I could finally get a rest. Tried not to dwell on that too much, still had a good distance to go until that point. Took off pack and refilled water jug when I reached timber line. Much cooler under timber. Took about 45 minutes to trail from bottom of talus slopes. Slogged along trail at a little slower pace than usual but tried to keep steady pace. Got to rig at a little after 5:00 p.m. At start of trip had planned to be out early this day with plenty of energy to take care of a few chores, trash to dump, mow lawn, walk dog, water cows etc. So much for those plans. Did go up and water cows but dog didn’t get walk and nothing else got done. Got home at about 7:00 p.m. 

Sound track in mind-Katy Perry, Its Never Over, Panic! At the Disco, Hey Look Ma I Made It, Chainsmokers and Rozes, Roses, Van Halen, Dance the Night Away, Colin James, Five Long Years, Ava Max, Sweet but Psycho, Katy Perry, Teenage Dream and many more.

Looking up valley at head of Pearsall Creek. Saddle or notch where I was going to attempt to get over ridge is near center frame. Path that Andy and I had brushed out the week before is in the foreground. In this particular area the vegetation was mostly ferns. 

Looking down Pearsall Valley at Whitechuck Mountain. 

Looking down Pearsall Valley at Whitechuck Mountain. 

Looking up valley near head of Pearsall Creek at crag. This crag was far from the highest point on the ridge. 

Brush where path had not been cut. 

More brush. Even though I had to go through less brush on this trip there was still plenty to bash through. 

B.C. Trip July 26^th, 28^th

Had two different possibilities for this trip. Rain or showers forecast for Friday night, otherwise weather supposed to be good Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wanted to go into small lake/pond on Sumallo River on a day trip, car camp in pickup under canopy and then walk Ghostpass Lake Trail on Saturday when everything was liable to be wet. The small lake/pond route would be through a lot of brush which would be soaking wet even if it only rained a little so I thought conditions would be better if I could stay on a trail. Then Sunday explore another abandoned road on Sumallo River.  This all depended on whether I got far enough on Friday to have time to do the first day trip. Alternative would be to go into Clerf Lake on Klesilkwa River on Friday, then over the ridge to the west to another small lake then back out on Sunday. If I was running late, I would still have time to get into Clerf Lake on Friday but I was liable to be wet and miserable for a good part of Saturday. The theme of this whole trip was that I pretty much wasn’t mentally prepared. Figured if I could get to jump off point on Sumallo River by about 2:00 p.m., I would have time to get in and out in a day. I got there at about 2:30 and figured that would be close enough. That would give me about 7 hours to do the trip before complete dark. It wasn’t too far in but a lot of it was over an abandoned logging road that had brushed in. Someone a year or two prior had cut a path through the tag alders part way up the road but I figured I would pretty much be on my own with the brush for about half of the trip. The other wild card was that there were several spurs off the logging road so there was a chance that I would end up on the wrong road in all the brush. Started out with the usual feeling like I was going to die and doubting that I ever could get in feeling as awful as I did. As usual, finally got limbered up and joints all oiled up and felt okay. Right hip and knee hurting a bit but no more than usual. Road grade pretty obvious and a lot of spots weren’t too bad to get through above the brushed out area. Tag alders mostly growing in road and hadn’t been beaten down by winter snows too badly so most of it wasn’t too hard to slip through. Several spots pretty brushy so got out of road and timber was pretty good traveling. In stem exclusion stage, probably about 40 years old or so and not a lot of underbrush and lower limbs on trees dead and not too thick. Hit big avalanche track that road passed through and was able to follow road bed for a good distance before losing it. Wasn’t sure if I had gotten off on wrong spur or a cat road off the main road but decided to continue on. Figured that I was getting pretty close to lake and able to see next patch of timber ahead. Time at this point was a little before 4:00 p.m. Figured I had enough time but wouldn’t have a lot to spare because it was slow, heavy work moving through brush. Then lucked out and stumbled back onto road grade. Still very brushy and in avalanche track but at least it gave me direction to go and one less thing to figure out and it was easier than going through the solid brush. Occasionally saw where branch had been cut, at about the same time as the road below had been more thoroughly brushed. Got to next patch of timber and going was slightly easier but road still full of brush. Found nice going off road in fairly level spot where timber was pretty open underneath. This took me to edge of next avalanche track. Had to navigate a bunch of trees knocked down a few years before by avalanche but figured that I was pretty much at the lake. Time was about 4:30 p.m. But when I got through the knocked down trees found another brush choked avalanche track. Could now see flat where lake sat and talus slope on far side of lake. More heavy going. Large rock at edge of avalanche track where I was and figured that would be a good landmark to navigate back to on the way back. Continued on working my way through tag alder, vine maple, devil’s club salmonberry, red-osier dogwood, black swamp gooseberry (super sharp thorns) etc. so thick that I usually couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead. Finally got down to water’s edge but it wasn’t the lake proper. It was a series of beaver ponds around the lake. These made things tougher. I didn’t trust walking through them, wasn’t sure how deep some were and how deep the soft mud bottoms were. Beavers still active in area and many dams made of willow branches that had rooted and started growing, making my pathways between ponds a solid mass of brush. Finally got to the edge of the lake proper at about 5:30 p.m. Actually it was a big rock at the edge of the lake where I was able to cut away enough tag alders to be able to get up and see. Looked like beaver activity might have as much as doubled surface area of lake. Numerous dead patches of tag alders quite a distance out into lake. Saw some diving ducks of some kind. Probably goldeneyes but not sure at this writing. Have photos by which I can hopefully I.D. Had hoped to be able to explore this lake a bit but entire shore that wasn’t inundated was brush down to and over water’s edge by several feet at least. Talus slope that I had seen earlier on far side from me but it would take an hour or more to work my way over to it and I needed to be heading the other way if I wanted to get out before dark. Supposed to rain that night and I didn’t have any shelter with me. Had lots of wool that I could put on and I would most probably survive but it would be pretty miserable. Started back at about 6:00 p.m. Took two and a half hours to get here. If took same time to get out, would be out at about 8:30 p.m. which would still be light. As long as I could get back to brushed out part of the road before dark I would be in good shape. Could use headlamp and get out pretty easily from that point. Could also use it in more brushy areas as well but would be a bit harder because heavy brush reflects light back, making it harder to see path. Couldn’t see big rock, probably because I couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead. Could see the tops of the trees in the forest patch but couldn’t see anything close to the horizon. Sun went behind ridge which made things cooler but also gloomier, even though I knew I still had several hours until dark. Got to edge of timber and no big rock. Checked uphill, no rock. Cut down hill. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I missed the road in the brush. I could still follow creek out but it would be the next day before I got out. Lucked out and hit road, a flat spot covered with tag alders in the midst of the timber, in a couple hundred yards. Navigated out pretty well from that point. Found spot where I lost road on the way in. Stream had cut though and left a gravel pile that I took for the road and followed up and off the road. On way back coming from the other direction I was able to stay on road all the way. Got to brushed area at about 7:00 p.m. and back to new logging unit at a little before 8:00 p.m., enough time to take some photos of Silvertip Mountain at the head of the Sumallo River.  Got back to rig a at about 8:00 p.m. Pants were covered with green stains where I had pushed through brush and legs had a number of stickers in them where devil’s club, salmonberry and gooseberry managed to penetrate pants though definitely many fewer thorns than if I had been wearing shorts. Rained a little bit overnight. Probably would have been pretty miserable if I had had to spent night out. Next day slow getting out of sleeping bag. Figured it would be a pretty easy day. Going on regular trail that I assumed would be maintained and brushed to some degree. Trail to Ghostpass Lake. Most maps I had showed Ghostpass Lake draining to Sowaqua Creek, Coquihalla River and Fraser but one showed it draining to 18 Mile Creek, Sumallo River and then Skagit. Figured it probably didn’t drain towards Skagit but would be good exercise to keep in shape and I could check it out just in case and also there were several areas that did drain to the Skagit that might be better accessed from this trail so I could check them out. Looking at the map, it was a little over five miles but looked like a fairly flat gradient with a few areas of switchbacks. Got started on trail at about 9:00 a.m. First part of trail follows an old wagon road. Went past a fallen cabin or bunkhouse of some sort. When it turned off the old wagon road, it went right into switchbacks and tread got very narrow. Trail steeper than I had expected. Finally cut around ridge into 18 Mile Creek. One sketchy spot here where trail was very narrow with tight switchbacks on a rock face where, if you slipped off trail, it looked like you could fall several hundred feet. After that, trail in 18 Mile Creek Valley with no steep drop offs but a lot of ups and downs. Trail also fairly brushy with lots of logs. Legs pretty well soaked in short order. At lower crossing of 18 Mile Creek small side stream and slide chute had buried trail under gravel and lots of brush in area. Trail looked like it disappeared. Several flags indicated where it went (whole length of trail was flagged actually) so followed them. Picked up trail pretty easily on other side of creek but it shortly led into large windfall patch where it kind of petered out. Backtracked and saw where people had cut up the hill to avoid windfall patch. Lots of bear scat and moose droppings and tracks in trail but it was obvious that humans had created the side trail around windfalls. No tools used but there is something about the way humans move through the landscape that is different than wildlife. Hard to put a finger on it but it definitely looked like humans had created the trail detour. Shortly after windfalls crossed back over 18 Mile Creek again. Lost trail again right at creek but was able to pick up easily on other side. Trail led through a number of other avalanche tracks and windfall areas but, for the most part was pretty easy to keep track of. Flagging helped. Again, obvious that at least a few people were using trail. Tread was fairly easy to find even in avalanche tracks.  Have definitely been on many worse trails but wasn’t mentally prepared for this. Had expected fairly open trail with maybe a few logs here and there that I could walk along without having to try to keep track of where trail was. This requires a lot more concentration and I wasn’t quite prepared mentally to have to put that much effort into it. It was also quite a bit steeper than I had expected. Started worrying about running out of time but pushed on. If I wasn’t careful, there were a number of places that I could lose it above the lower crossing of 18 Mile Creek which, combined with a lack of time could mean spending the night out in the woods. Figured as long as I got back to lower crossing before dusk I would be fine. Had lunch at about 1:00 p.m. Still wet and got cold when stropped moving. Found patch of sunlight through trees to start lunch. Figured it would move off me before I was done eating but felt good while it lasted. Got started going again about 1:30. Came across large tributary coming in from west (right bank) at a little after 2:30 p.m. I think. This stream probably carried over half the flow of 18 Mile Creek at that point. For minute wasn’t sure if trail followed this or not. Seemed like a lot of flow if it headed at Ghostpass which I figured was pretty close at this point. Quick check of map confirmed that this was a tributary and I wanted to continue up the valley heading north. Sure enough, that is where the trail led as well. About another mile or so to Ghostpass. Trail didn’t lead to pass itself but ridge above it. When I crested ridge could see logging unit not too far away. Couldn’t see lake but knew it was close. Trail at this point got pretty hard to follow. Route flagged pretty well but hard to follow trail tread. Got to Ghostpass Lake at 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. So took something like 6 hours to get to this spot. If it took that long to get out, it would get dark on me, which I could deal with but didn’t want to have to. Banking on fact that you usually make a lot better time coming out though figured I would be cutting it pretty close getting back before dark, especially if I lost trail at some point. Didn’t stay long. Long enough to verify that Ghostpass Lake didn’t drain to the Skagit. South end of lake slope upward and wasn’t flat as one would expect if there were an outlet there. Saw some waterfowl, ducks but couldn’t tell what they were. Pretty tired at this point. Legs felt like lead but no help for that. Started back. Pleasantly surprised to find trail much easier to follow coming from this direction. Made good time. Remembered most of the trouble areas where trail was hard to find under windfalls etc. and navigated them pretty well. Only stepped off trail a few times but was able to immediately backtrack and pick it up again. Key when you step off trail like this is to turn back the minute you realize you are no long on the trail and try to find it again. If you keep going once you realize you are off the trail, you stand a chance of losing it for good. Made back to lower crossing of 18 Mile Creek in plenty of time. Legs really felt like lead when started up to go back over ridge out of 18 Mile Creek Valley but I could tell that they wouldn’t cramp. I didn’t have any of the quick twitchiness that seems to be the precursor to cramps. I guess that means I was finally in shape for the year. Got back to trailhead at dusk. Checked out abandonded road on Potter Creek Sumallo River next morning. Brushed in heavily after most recent logging units which were at least 15 years old. Would have to use another route into series of small lakes/ponds in this drainage. Got home in early afternoon and did some weedeating at Community Hall in preparation for salmon barbeque fundraiser next weekend. Cut down and cut up small alder for salmon barbecue.

Looking up Small River at Whitetip Mountain from new logging unit. 

Same as previous photo with fireweed in foreground. 

Pond or small lake that was my goal on this trip. This photo was taken from the top of a large rock where I had cut a hole in the tag alders large enough to get a view. 

Same as above showing slightly farther around the lake/pond. 

                                      

Beaver formed wetlands/ponds around pond/lake. 

More wetlands/ponds. These might have as much as doubled the surface area of the pond/lake. 

Waterfowl or ducks on lake/pond. I suspect these might be goldeneyes but am not sure. 

Silvertip Mountain from logging unit on way out near dusk. 

Same as above after a few clouds rolled through. 

18 Mile Creek about a third of the way to Ghostpass Lake. 

Waterfall on Potter Creek. It looked like there was an old disused trail, maybe for viewing the waterfall where I took this photo. 

Summer Trips 2018 Volume II, August, Early September

                      

                     

Otter Creek Flat Aug 13th

Didn’t get out previous weekend. Ended up running errands Friday, worked Saturday and helped with Community Club Salmon Barbeque and then had kids while Sacha went to training. Had planned on trying to get into head of Downey Creek this weekend and changed day off from Friday to Monday to try to get better weather but forecast changed at last minute to include possible thunderstorms. Decided to do other things. One thing to deal with thunderstorms if they are kind of unexpected but another if they are forecast and you go out anyway-kind of like borrowing trouble. Lots of moisture in air and temperatures hot that weekend-good conditions for thunderstorms. You can start to lose muscle mass  in a couple of weeks if you don’t exercise so I wanted to get at least a decent workout trip to maintain my legs. Decided to still take Monday off and try to get into big flat south of Otter Lakes (Hamar and Enjar). Had been to this flat in about 1993 and tried to get in twice last year but was thwarted both times. Illabot Creek Road still open which made it possible to get into the flat and out in a day. Got pretty early start and was on the trail at about 9:30 a.m. and was at Slide Lake at about 10:00 a.m. Saw two osprey there. Got to Otter Lakes at a little after 12:00 noon and ate lunch and took a break. Day was fairly warm but not hot and there was a cool breeze. Actually got a little chilled after lunch. Took short nap and continued on. Wanted to contour around and try to maintain elevation to within about a hundred feet. Figured route would be pretty brushy and it was. Oval leaved blueberries (or blue huckleberries as we always called them) chest high most of the way. This type of brush isn’t as bad as vine maples or tag alders but still requires a lot of effort to push through. On top of that, sidehilling is also harder than just uphill or downhill. Had been worried that some spots might be really steep-contour lines on map looked pretty close but overall, going was pretty good. Slope of hill well within my comfort zone. Made it to flat in about 45 minutes and spent a couple of hours there looking around. This is another example of how something can be misremembered. My memory of this place from 1993 was of a pretty barren place with lots of exposed mud flats and not much in the way of views. Flat I found was well vegetated and pretty good view of part of a glacier on Snowking Mountain on one side and an unnamed (as far as I know) peak in the Arrowhead/Whale Lake vicinity on the other side of Otter Creek valley. Could have probably gotten some pretty cool photos if it hadn’t been so hazy. Contoured back out and made a little better time. Got to Lower Otter at 4:30 p.m. Decided to dedicate half an hour to fishing. No luck. Headed out, had told Sacha that I would be back home sometime between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. There was no way I was going to make that but I didn’t want to be way late. Trail back out seemed a lot longer. Legs were feeling pretty rubbery. Got a little worried that I might have overdone my training trip. Was planning to go out again on Friday but the way my legs were feeling, I was pretty sure I would be sore. Hopefully the three days between Monday and Friday would be enough recovery time. Got back to trailhead about 7:00 p.m. and back home a little after 8:00 p.m. Legs sore next couple of days but not too bad. 

Looking west from the head of Slide Lake.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) at Slide Lake. There were at least two. I heard them first then saw this one flying. 

Zoomed in view of osprey. Over the past ten years or so I have seen a number of osprey at high lakes such as Slide Lake which are naturally fishless due to migration barriers but have fish in them because they are stocked. It would appear that fish stocking may have allowed osprey to expand their range. There are some bad effects from fish stocking in high lakes but it would appear that not all effects are bad depending on your point of view, assuming an increase in osprey population doesn't have unforeseen consequences in other areas.

Looking southeast from the outlet of Otter Flat at Snowking Mountain. As is obvious, it was very smokey that day. I had been into this flat in about 1993 and remembered it as being kind of muddy and barren. It is also obvious that my memory was flawed. A lot of this flat is wetland which might have left the long term impression on my mind of mud flats. 

Same as above with a little different angle. I had thought the views in this flat wouldn't be very interesting but I found them quite impressive. I may try to make it back some day when the air isn't so hazy. 

Salamander larva in small pond in flat. I think that this one and several others I saw were Northwestern salamanders (Ambystoma gracile). 

Salamander larva and Cascades frog tadpole apparently feeding on old salamander egg mass. 

Looking southwest. 

Looking roughly west. 

Sedge wetlands.

More wetlands. A large are of this flat was covered with such meadows. I didn't see a lot of sign of big game, a few deer tracks and some bear sign. I don't recall seeing a lot of sign in 1993 either which might have also left and impression on my mind of barrenness. 

Cascades frog (Rana cascadae). 

Looking north towards outlet of stream draining flat. 

Tadpole cluster. These are probably either Cascades frogs or western toads (Bufo boreas). They appeared to be feeding on something, possibly a carcass of a dead frog or toad etc. 

More tadpoles. 

Large log near center of flat. There were a number of logs quite a distance out in the flat. I assume that they were carried there in avalanches off Snowking Mountain. 

Slide Lake on the way out. The haze was much thicker(obviously) later in the day. 

Upper Downey Creek Aug 17th thru 19th

Goal two lakes at head of Downey Creek. Tried high route via Bench, Woods and Slim Lakes last year but failed. Years ago, friend had two nephews out visiting and they wanted an adventure and we thinking about a route up Downey Creek to these two lakes. I mentioned that I thought there was a better route, knowing that the proposed route would be pretty brushy and end in cliffs. Now I found myself pursuing the same route. Figured it would be rough and I would likely get cliffed out but it was the next possibility for me. I was pretty sure I could get in there via another route but that would involve glacier travel which would mean I would have to either round up some help or get myself attached to someone doing the Ptarmigan Traverse. Had to run a few errands in Concrete first. Figured I would have enough time to make it to a good spot to camp that day and try to get into the lakes the next day. Got on trail a little before 11:00 a.m. This particular trail has a fairly hard start, a steep stretch right off the bat. Lungs were burning for about first half hour of walking. This isn’t unusual for me until I get into stride but today seemed worse because air was somewhat smoky-though not as bad as previous days. Felt kind of weak and sluggish all day and once had to stop because I got nauseous. Don’t know if this was because I had overdone it on Monday going into Otter Flats-legs still a bit stiff when I started Friday, or because I had eaten too much or I had too much coffee etc. Sky fairly clear which was a change from haze of past week or more. Pushed myself on. Downey Creek Trail has hard start but, after that, not too bad. Had lunch and took half hour nap at creek draining Downey Lake. Had planned to take a break again at Bachelor Creek which wasn’t too far up the trail but felt okay by the time I reached that point so pushed on. Old trail went up Downey Creek on right bank (north side) above Goat Creek. Walk part of it on route to Bench Lake. Thought I would follow it until it ran out, at an avalanche track I figured, and then head up the creek. Had surveyed Downey Creek up to this avalanche track in 2005 and my memory of it was that the going wasn’t too bad. Lost and found trail several times but finally got above some big waterfalls into the flat above. Hadn’t hit the avalanche track yet but decided it would be just as easy to go up creek. I was wrong. When we had surveyed the creek in 2005 we were carrying light day packs. It was an entirely different prospect carrying a full overnight pack navigating all the log jams and brush. Finally decided to get out of creek. Climbed up to flat above the steep slope of the creek valley. Now several hundred yards from creek but going much easier. Still had to navigate myriad windfalls and small springs and wet areas choked with devil’s club and salmonberries but these weren’t as thick as they were along the creek. Off-trail travel best measure in time rather than miles because it sometimes takes hours to travel one mile. It probably took me over two hours to travel a mile. I have also heard it said that travel in old-growth forest is easiest. In my experience this is wrong. In old-growth forest there are lots of windfalls of all sizes to navigate but some of the hardest are the large diameter old-growth logs 3 to 5 feet in diameter. You have to crawl over or under or put in extra steps to go around them. Then there is often heavy underbrush that resists your motion or trips you up. Almost every step is a struggle as ground shifts or brush trips and resists you movements. The best walking, in my experience is a second-growth forest 50 to 60 years old, big enough that the stems have thinned out a bit and the lower limbs on the trees are gone. Usually a stand of this kind has such a closed canopy that there isn’t much undergrowth to wade through. Made my way up valley pretty much out of creek until finally steep hillside forced me into creek. Fortunately nice large, open gravel bar that got me several hundred yards up the creek until I could dive off into the timber in the flat again. Finally reached a spot in the valley that was above the outlet of Slim Lake. I had originally wanted to get a couple miles farther up but I was pretty much worn out at this point. It was 6:00 p.m. so I had a couple more hours of daylight to continue to push on. I debated for about half an hour and finally decided that this was a good spot to camp that I might not find further up and that I was close enough to get into the lakes and back out in a day (assuming I could get into them). If I stayed here, then I wouldn’t have to carry a full pack any farther and I could get a couple more hours rest. This turned out to be a good call. I scouted a little farther up the route I thought I would be taking to see if there was a better camp spot a little farther up and to see if I could see anything familiar on the route. I had been studying it on Google Earth. I didn’t find a better camp and still nothing familiar though I knew I should be coming up to an avalanche track soon. The valley was beginning to steepen which I expected and fit with where I thought I was. Next morning got a pretty early start. Always a struggle to get up and get going in the morning. Got started a little after 7:00 a.m. and reached the end of the flat in about half an hour. I followed what I assumed was Downey Creek seemed like flow was still about the same. Soon ran out of timber on flat which transitioned into tag alders along creek. Tried to stick to timber on sidehill but too steep to be practical. Strip of timber running up other side of creek and debated bashing through tag alders and following it up as far as I could before diving into the tag alders for the rest of the trip. This looked like it would only gain me a couple hundred yards so decided to work my way to the creek from where I was and then up it through the tag alders.

Struggle, up creek, across creek, out of creek pushing through tag alders, back in creek. Lots of loose rock, several close calls. Got to a spot up valley where I could look back down and saw the avalanche track that I had expected to pass near the bottom of the valley. This was my first opportunity to recognize that I had made a mistake. Instead, I thought that the map was wrong, which does happen but is fairly rare with USGS Quads, usually I am the one at fault. But apparently my head was into making my way up this valley so I continued on. Finally hit open area near bottom of cirque. Better here because no brush but lots of dried soil on rocks that tended to collapse when I stepped on it or collapse under larger rocks I stepped on. This made for constantly shifting footing. With almost every step I took, I was never really sure where my foot would end up when it stopped moving. Stopped again and looked at map. Things didn’t look quite right but it was fairly close to what I expected. There were solid rock valley walls and a cirque, though there were more moraines than I expected and less solid rock. I could also make out some steep peaks and glaciers through the thick smoke at the head of the valley. This didn’t seem right but I chalked it up to my reading the map wrong. Saw two possible routes up above the cirque. One was a moraine that the main stream had cut down through, the other was another moraine that was relatively intact. Decided to go with intact moraine because stream cut meant a lot of loose rock and possibly an impassible cliff or waterfall. Getting to intact moraine required working through several hundred more yards of tag alders which I managed to do. When I stepped on the moraine I thought I had it made. I was almost celebrating and I was making plans on what I was going to do with the rest of the day. Finally, after about 4 hours of bashing brush and dodging rocks, I reached a flat spot. It was very smoky and disorienting and I could barely see the peaks and glaciers above me but it was also obvious to me that nothing looked like it should if I was where I thought I was. It finally sunk in that I was in the wrong place. I put down my pack and, sick to my stomach dragged out the map again to see if I could figure out where I was and if I could somehow salvage the situation. It didn’t take much to realize that I had followed the creek draining Spire Glacier (not to be confused with Spire Creek which drains to Sulphur Creek in the next drainage up the Suiattle). It was also painfully obvious that there was no way into the lakes at the head of Downey Creek short of scaling some serious cliffs. I had some really choice words for myself. All the work and dangers to this point basically for nothing and I had to go back down through that nasty mess to get out. To top it off, it was about 11:00 a.m. so the day was shot. By the time I worked my way back down, hopefully still in one piece, it would be too late to try the cirque at the head of Downey Creek. More choice words. I really felt like an idiot. There was no help for it though, so I had lunch and took a short nap. I did notice an interesting thing. There was western red cedar growing on the moraine where I was sitting. This wasn’t necessarily out of the ordinary, I was at about 4400 feet which is within the range of western red cedar but the barren aspect of the moraine made it seem much higher. I would have been expecting Alaska yellow cedar in this setting. Though, interestingly, there was quite a bit of mountain hemlock which isn’t supposed to grow much below 5000 feet around my camp below at about 3000 feet. None of this was much consolation, I still needed to get my stupid ass out of there in one piece. Starting a little before noon, I mad my way back down to the avalanche track at the bottom of the valley in about 3 hours. I realized that if I had gone to the strip of timber I had thought about, I might had realized my mistake because it was right on the edge of the avalanche track and it would have been relatively easy to check my location at that point. I decided to explore up Downey Creek and see how the going would be. I found it to be much easier than I had expected and made my way much farther up the valley than I thought I would be able to without wading through tag alders. That was about all I had time for. I couldn’t quite get far enough up the valley to see the cirque and if it might be possible to get past it. Made my way back to camp and realized that I had camped almost directly across from the confluence of Downey Creek but it was hard to recognize as a confluence of two streams and not the main stream and a side channel with all the brush. Got back to camp at about 5:00 p.m. I could probably have made it back to Downey Creek Trail in three hours but decided to rest up and try to get an early start in morning.  Slept pretty well that night though heard footsteps outside tent at some point in the night. Sounded more like hooves than pads so I wasn’t too worried. Pads mean predator types. Even after 11 or 12 hours of sleep, still had a hard time getting out of sleeping bag in morning so didn’t get started until after 7:00 a.m. A little disappointed in myself though not at the level of my screw up of the day before. Stayed on south side of creek all the way out and found the going decent. Made good time and probably saved half an hour over the trip in. Very smoky. I was looking for Goat Creek Valley on other side of Downey Creek as a position marker but I could barely make it out. I was pretty sure I was there because I could also hear the falls on Downey Creek but it wasn’t a for sure thing. Sure enough, was at Bachelor Creek shortly. Rest of trip out was relatively uneventful. Seemed like I had plenty of energy now though I wasn’t spared the sore shoulders and feet that seem typical of any trip out of the mountains. Picked up some burritos on way out beside trail. Saw them on the way in. Looked like someone had accidentally lost them. Imagine they were pretty disappointed when lunchtime or dinnertime came. Obviously didn't eat them. Dumped the biodegradable parts and pocketed the plastic for disposal later. Pack weighed 65.5 pounds at end of trip.   

Looking downstream at maybe a half mile up the stream from the timberline. 

Looking upstream from same spot as above. The travel alternated between areas of bare rock, many of which were loose and tag alders growing through the same loose stream rounded rock. 

About half way up the creek to the cirque above. This was another place that would have been much more impressive without all the haze. 

Near the final run up to the cirque. The traveling was a little better towards the top. There was more bare rock which was easier to move over that the brush even though of lot of this rock was still loose. 

Looking upstream from the same spot as above. 

Looking downstream from near bottom of cirque. The soil covering the rock in the foreground was treacherous. It looked solid and you couldn't avoid stepping on it but once you did, it would dissolve into numerous small pebbles that caused your foot to slip. 

Looking upstream from about the same spot as above. I had to cut over from the open area of the stream into the brush at the left side of the frame. After fighting through about a hundred yards of the brush, I got into a talus slope that led me right up over the cirque. 

Above the cirque. It was here that I finally realized that I had come up the wrong stream valley. It would have been a pretty impressive spot if it hadn't been so hazy. Still I wouldn't have gone here just for a few pictures and I doubt I will ever go back. An interesting note: This area is well over 4000 feet in elevation and there were a lot of small cedars growing here. However, most, if not all that I saw were western red cedar (Thuja plicata) rather than Alaska yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) as I would have expected. It is not uncommon to find red cedar at this elevation but usually, with some notable exceptions, there is also a good bit of yellow cedar present as well and the yellow cedar is often the dominant species at these elevation. P.S. I guess they have changed the genus of yellow cedar to a name that starts with an "X" but I am too tired and lazy at this point in time to look it up. 

Looking west on my way back out of the cirque. I sure wish it hadn't been so hazy. You can just make out the lower reaches of Spire Glacier. 

Bachelor Creek on the way out. This day was actually clear but the haze was so thick that it appeared to be overcast. 

Head of Downey Creek Aug 31st thru Sept 2nd

Spent previous weekend with family in B.C., went into Poland Lake there. Wanted one more stab at the two small lakes or ponds at the head of Downey Creek that I had failed to get into on the weekend of the 17th through 19th of August. Wanted to try again this year because knew a route at least to cirque below lakes and route would be the same so would be a little easier to get there. If waited a year, route might change a bit and might not remember as well. Had to run some errands in Concrete before starting out. Hit Downey Creek Trail at about 11:00 a.m. Air very clear compared to previous weekend and lungs felt much better and legs seemed to have more energy. Probably two reasons for this, better air and I made conscious effort not to over-coffee and eat too much. Temperature very nice for hiking-mid 70’s Fahrenheit. Made good time. Fire on mountain about 5 miles up. Hit smoke from that and thought I might be in for it but got clear of worst of smoke in about half a mile. Made Bachelor Creek at about 3:00 p.m. with stop for lunch and a nap. Went up Bachelor Creek trail to spot where I had hit it on the previous trip and dove off. Had been dreading this part of trip. Hard to describe off-trail accurately. Except for rare instances where ground is clear for a little distance or you have a good clean walk log, every step is work. Ground shifts underfoot or you slip on stems of brush. Brush resists your every movement and plants like devil’s clubs and salmonberries stab and scratch through even heavy clothes and leave stickers behind. Even worse on areas of bare skin. Brush and sticks trip you up. Sticks catch your feet at weird angles that you couldn’t duplicate if you tried a hundred times and trip you up. Have to constantly choose route, strategizing several hundred feet ahead which way the easiest travel will be. Also where I hit a wall. All of a sudden I was out of energy. Figured to be at spot where I camped on previous trip by about 6:00 p.m. but wasn’t going to make it if I didn’t keep moving. Forced myself to slog on. Made to camp spot at about 6:00 p.m. Funny thing, felt more worn out than on previous trip even though I was able to capitalize on knowing the route better and the air quality was much better. Probably mostly psychological. Camp spot was excellent and probably thinking about how nice it would be made it harder to slog through off-trail walking. Cooked and ate dinner and turned in at a little before 8:00 p.m. Next day would be moment of truth whether I could get past cirque and into lakes above. Felt fairly optimistic about my chances but the next day would see. Slept really well. Didn’t want to get up in morning. Common for me even at home. In mountains more pronounced. Hard to leave warm sleeping bag where you are relatively safe to put on shoes wet from wading the creek the day before and crawl out into the cool morning air to go on a quest where you will be risking injury or worse. Thought about Sacha and the kids a lot. Hoped I would survive the day intact and seriously questioned the value of what I was doing. Still managed to crawl out of my tent and was going by a little after 8:00 a.m. Usually feel much better about things once blood is flowing and this day was no exception though I still felt rather sluggard for some reason. Took route I had scouted on previous trip and dove out of timber and into creek at a point across from a large talus slope with some trees growing in it. Had to go through large patch of tag alders to get to creek but these weren’t too bad. Evidently hadn’t been hammered by avalanches too much so they were fairly upright and not too hard to move through. Hit creek at a little after 9:00 a.m. at a 10 foot high cut bank and had to go up a bit to find a spot into the creek bed. Realized I should have gone a few hundred yards farther up before hitting creek but this was okay. Would take that route on way out. Creek pretty low and lots of nice open bars of cobble and boulders to walk. Loose rocks constant hazard as well as algae slick rocks when crossing creek. I should have been able to see the cirque at this point but low clouds were obscuring it. The forecast was for a sunny day that day and I hoped the clouds would lift because I wouldn’t be able navigate inside a cloud. Not to mention that, if I got into flat above cirque, (actually area wasn’t flat but much flatter than cirque and much easier to navigate), it would likely be in a spot where I had to find the exact location again which would be difficult in a fog bank. I have seen forecasts for clear weather that turned out to not end up with precipitation but ended up with low clouds all day so I wasn’t sure if I wouldn’t be weathered out this time. Made it bottom of cirque in about half an hour. Took break for about ten minutes and tried to gather myself together mentally. Had been looking at this spot on air photos for over a year and now I was finally here and things didn’t look good. Low clouds finally lifting and I could see some of the features of the cirque. Had in my mind two routes that looked likely from air photos and one other one that looked like a brush bashing nightmare. One route on north side of cirque by waterfall that I had thought likely and would be most direct route to area above cirque was definitely out. It was vertical cliffs. There was a spot that looked possible on the other (west) side of the waterfall. If I could get across the creek at the waterfall, it looked like I could follow an inclined flatter spot between cliff bands and kind of switchback above the cirque. This area was choked with scrubby evergreens, mountain hemlock and Alaska cedar, among others. These had been hammered nearly horizontal by avalanches and would be thick and miserable to get up through. Decided to try route on south side of cirque where maps indicated that ground should be gradual enough to get up. There were several stream chutes there or the ridges of ground between them that looked promising. Standing there looking at it directly I was a little skeptical but decided to try it. Sometimes you have to be right up to something in order to tell if you can get past it or not. Not too much brush to get to approach but a lot of forbs and loose rock that made for slick footing and a lot of slips and falls. Had thought most likely route was ridge of ground between two stream chutes but this looked a little steeper than I wanted to try. The stream chute that had looked most promising on maps and air photos had small vertical wall at bottom just high enough to stop me. Tried other stream chute and made it up about 50 feet before also being cliffed out. Worked my way back down. Attempt had cost me about 45 minutes and was disheartening. Took a lot of work to get to this point and I was in danger of using all my time in failed attempts. Decided to try route on north side of cirque on other side of waterfall. This involved sidehilling through slick forbs and loose rock then working through several patches of tag alders and getting across stream with nearly vertical sides cut about ten feet into a deposit of boulders and gravel. Then I was in a talus slope just below the waterfall. Talus was easy traveling but had more brush at top in order to get to waterfall. Got to waterfall at about noon. Dropped pack and scouted route across. Found it steep going across waterfall and then very steep sidehill through thick trees to what had looked like an inclined spot between nearly vertical rock faces. This was also steeper than I wanted to attempt. If I got past the small strip of larger trees near the waterfall I would be in the thick avalanche hammered brushy scrub trees and it didn’t look like I would be able to see where I was going very well. Scrapped that plan and worked my way back to my pack. Now I was really disheartened. Looked like another failure and I would have to regroup and make an attempt the next year. While I was mulling this over at an open spot watered with waterfall mist I spied the gap, or what looked like a gap on the east side of the cirque. Had eyeballed this spot several times while traversing the cirque and had decided it looked more promising than I had thought earlier though still very brushy. Decided to try this spot in order to try to salvage all the heavy work I had put in to this point. It was a little after noon so if this attempt failed I was done. There was another possible route a little farther down the valley near where I had dropped into the creek but I wouldn’t have time to try that this day. So it would be some other day in some other year probably. I started out sidehilling through tag alders and small open areas of bracken ferns and forbs. I stuck as closely as I could to a vertical, or nearly vertical rock face. Often the brush isn’t as thick in these places though I found myself faced with a wall of tag alders and vine maples before long. It was hard working my way into the tag alders because I was going against the grain or lay of the brush. Once inside it wasn’t too bad. It is a little easier going up or down through that type of brush especially because you have a lot of good hand holds to help pull yourself up. Of course there were a few spots where I had to go against the grain to go around particularly thick interwoven brush but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I will say though, that it was definitely not easy. Hit another small open patch, followed by a small stream that I had to go up for a few feet. Had to go past large rock that looked like it was just perched there. Rock big enough to pin or crush me. Tried it and it seemed solid so squeaked past it trying not to touch it. Little flat area 20 or 30 feet above and then more steep ground. Ran into some steep rock bluffs but looked like I could get past them which I did using abundant brush for handholds. Small patch of talus and looked like one last run of steep ground to the top of the cirque. Looked like several possible routes. Chose one and went for it. At one spot on this route had to pull myself up past a chest high ledge with scrubby mountain hemlock limbs but made it okay. Would have to be really careful here on way back. Spot wasn’t too exposed, lots of brush to hang on to but potential to get overbalanced and have a very bad rolling fall. Trees on top of cirque just above me now. Pulled myself up the last 20 or 30 feet and crawled through last scrubby krummholz trees to see the Promised Land, an almost flat pile of talus. I had made it. I took careful note of the spot where I had come up. There was a silver fir that had had its top broken out years ago and now sported twin trunks about 15 feet tall and just up from it was a mountain hemlock that had had similar damage but had grown out at a weird angle. Between me and the talus pile there was a large red rock. It would be a pretty easy spot to find again. Made my way out onto talus. Could see the flat where the lower lake sat. It was a little before 2:00 p.m. Sat down and ate lunch. Had a hard time eating wanted to get done and be on my way. Figured I had enough time to get to both lakes. The route to lower one was obvious from where I was and wouldn’t be a problem. I could see part of the route to the upper lake as well. According to my maps, the route to upper lake shouldn’t be a problem either but I wasn’t counting on that. Time was tight and if it turned out that I ran into some navigation problems I might run out of time and I didn’t want to make this journey again. Finished lunch and made my way 400 feet up to lower lake. Very pretty spot. Took photos and made tour around lake which was actually more of a flat with a stream running through it. Even though USGS Quad indicated a lake here, if there ever was one, it had filled in. The water surface in the flat was fairly level but there was not standing water it was all moving. Not a lot of vegetation around lake mostly moss and sedges. Didn’t see anything in the way of aquatic life though I am sure there were lots of aquatic macroinvertebrates there. Retrieved a balloon that had floated away from someone’s birthday party to become litter in the wilderness and started for upper lake a little more than 400 feet above. Route wasn’t bad. No surprises. A little steep in spots with more slick forbs that footing slippery but made it okay in about half an hour with a couple stops to take photos. This lake also wasn’t much of a lake though there was a small pond of standing water in the flat next the stream flowing through it. Goat wallow on small hillock-probably a moraine above the lake. Lots of goat tracks in dried out mud around pond. Took a lot of photos of an unnamed (as far as I know) peak to the south that I found quite striking. Started working my way back down a little before 4:00 p.m. At this point I had been to every mapped high lake and pond in the Suiattle River drainage but I still had a lot of rough ground to cover to get out safely. It wouldn’t mean much if I didn’t make it out. Of course these two lakes could hardly be described as lakes but according to the criteria I set for myself on my project, they were mapped as lakes. And, they were actually the first lakes of the year, besides Poland Lake in B.C. that unquestionably fit my criteria. Gamma Hot Springs that I had gone to earlier weren’t really lakes or ponds and the lake on the east end of Lime Ridge was only provisionally mapped and wasn’t mapped at all when I started my high lake project. Flat where stream meandered about a hundred feet below where I needed to start back down the face of the cirque. Considered looking it over for a moment, often find interesting things in such flats. And there was actually another spot of flat water though it wasn’t a pond just a pool or wide spot in the stream. Decided against it. Time would be tight getting back to camp before dark and I didn’t want to rush, especially coming down face of cirque. Trip out was rough. Harder to go downhill a lot of the time. Found spot where I came over edge of cirque pretty easily and worked my way carefully down. Had rock faces to follow for reference so it wasn’t too bad as far as keeping my bearings but I had a lot of minor falls and managed to bash my shin on a tag alder at a perfect spot where all the brush I would have to walk through for the rest of the trip would rub. Developed hot spots on the tops of both pinky toes and another toenail felt jammed and I figured I would likely lose it. Once I got to bottom of cirque going was easier though I fell a couple times when dry soil washed or slid down in the spring or early summer collapsed underfoot or under rocks I was standing on and took my feet out from under me instantly. Travel down creek was good, nice open boulders and cobbles, only had to be wary of occasional loose rock. Reach spot to cut through brush to timber at about 6:00 p.m. Picked spot where creek was closest to timber and dove in. Lucked out and hit the bottom of a fairly fresh slide that I couldn’t see from creek. This was a nice open spot of bare boulders and cobbles that allowed me to cross about half the distance I needed to in order to get to timber. Once in timber traveling was really good and straightforward. Made it back to camp a little after 7:00 p.m., just before dark. First thing I did was get my SPOT GPS to send message to Sacha that I was okay. But I couldn’t find it in my pack. Tore compartment where I keep it apart and still couldn’t find it. Finally looked in tent and found that it was under my sleeping bag. Good thing I didn’t get into trouble on my journey. I would have had a rude awakening when I went to send and S.O.S. with the SPOT only to find out that I didn’t have it. One reason I don’t completely trust technology. You can forget it somewhere or it can break down on you at a bad time. Also why I always try to be as careful as possible as if I didn’t have a device that could bail me out of bad decisions. Years ago when small cell phones first came out mom gave me one before a trip and I acted like an idiot, making several bad decisions. Then I dropped it in the creek while cooking dinner that night. I don’t know if it was the dousing or I just didn’t have reception (most likely the latter) but it didn’t work. And I had been counting on it bailing me out of my bad decisions. If I got into trouble this time I would have just had to figure things out…..or not. Which is why it paid to be careful up front. After dinner, spent about half an hour writing out and correcting notes from day before going to sleep. Slept well and got started at a little after 8:00 a.m. the next day. Trip out wasn’t too bad had a good idea of best route though did get sucked down into one bad devil’s club patch that I had fought the trip before and resolved not to make the mistake of going through it again. Well I went through it again and it was just as big a hassle as the trip before. Worst part about trip was psychological. At some point, I decided I was farther along than I actually was. I thought I heard falls on Downey Creek which meant I was getting close to Bachelor Creek and the trail. Sound was different in clear air though. The heavy smoke on previous trip seemed to dampen sound just like fog and falls made a distinct sound. This time when I thought I heard falls it was actually just the regular stream noise, probably as it picked up gradient a bit. The rest of the trip to the trail seemed to take forever after than point and everything seemed harder and seemed to hurt more. Unlike last trip, had good visual on ridgeline across creek. Knew when I got across from Goat Creek that I would almost be there. Finally heard falls on Downey Creek when I was getting close and sky opened wide across creek as I passed Goat Creek Valley. Hit trail at a little before 11:00 a.m. Came in a little lower, by several hundred feet, than I had left. Ran into a couple guys I had seen on the way in on Friday who were going to scout around Cub and Itswoot Lakes. Talked with them a big and continued on. Had been looking forward to getting to Bachelor Creek and taking a break but it felt so good to be on a clear trail where every step was unimpeded and I didn’t have to constantly think about the best route through a particular spot. Off-trail pure misery when you are in the midst of experience but it all magically melts away once you are back on regular trail. Though looked off trail on way out and realized that I was breezing by areas in a few minutes that would take 15 minutes or more to traverse off-trail. Of course pack started to wear into shoulders and rub sore spots after a couple of miles of the new rhythm on the trail. Short stop for lunch and then continued on. Interesting that I felt pretty good about stiffness and soreness when I started out that morning but I was much stiffer and sorer after a short lunch break. Got to rig a little before 2:00 p.m. Interesting phenomenon that I think I have mentioned before. Coming out of backcountry goes in stages of increasing comfort and pleasure which is a novelty when you first experience but then novelty wears off and then you hit a new level of comfort and past discomfort is largely forgotten. Feels so good to hit maintained trail after traveling for several hours off trail. Then after a while the novelty of the maintained trail wears off and it becomes another slog full of discomfort. Then you get to your rig and, all of a sudden, you are rolling along effortlessly much faster than you could walk or even run. After a while of that, you get tired of dust, washboards and dodging potholes, then you hit the pavement and you are rolling along smoothly. Within a few hours I had made my greetings to my family and was taking Skyeball the dog for a walk. I was a little stiff and sore in spots but it was hard to imagine the discomfort I had been experiencing off-trail mere hours before. Pack weighed 65 pounds at end of trip. Weird medley running through my head for the entire trip dominated by Taylor Swift “Delicate” and Black Keys “Sister” with O.A.R. “Shattered” some oldies from the 70’s Jerry Reed “Amos Moses”, The Kings “Switchin’ to Glide” and “Magic” by a band called Pilot mixed in with odds and ends of contemporary popular music. Five years ago I would have really been psyched to have finished this trip. It wasn’t the most difficult trip I have done in the mountains by far but it definitely ranked pretty high on the difficult scale. I did feel a little elated for a few days but I have reached a point in my life where I was happier to just check this trip off my list so I can finish the project and move on to other things, family being top of the list. I have come to question the actual value of what I am doing with this project and whether it is worth orphaning my kids over it. I regularly take notes of the flora and fauna I observe but doubt any of it will be earth shaking. I am so close to the end I will probably slog along. I don’t know if I can afford to take a decade or more off from the project at my age. If I did, more than likely I would never finish. And I would feel weird not being in the mountains in the summer. The little hit of elation I got over this trip will soon fade, just like the pleasure and novelty of coming off-trail to a maintained trail and all of the rest of the process of coming out of the backcountry fades. Just after it does, I know it will be replaced by the drive to check out the next place in the mountains.

Looking north from outlet of Poland Lake B.C.. This day was hazy too but it was also overcast and I ended up getting rained on shortly after starting back. 

Looking roughly west at Poland Lake B.C. 

Tailed frog (Ascaphus truei) tadpole in upper Downey Creek. This was one of the first things I saw after wading through a sea of tag alders from the timberline to the creek. 

Clouds and fog lifting from the cirque at the head of Downey Creek. One of my routes to attempt to get above the cirque was up the ridges and gullies on the south side pictured here. They proved to be too steep, even though they might not appear to be in this photo. At least they were steeper than I wanted to attempt. 

Waterfall on Upper Downey Creek on the north side of the cirque. Another possible route  I had planned on trying was here, near the waterfall but this proved to be too steep, or steeper than I wanted to try as well. 

Looking east at the cirque and the lifting clouds. This photo was taken from the waterfall previously pictured. After working through a lot of brush, I was finally able to get up above the cirque at the low notch to the left center of the frame here. 

Looking west at Mount Buckindy from above the cirque at the head of Downey Creek. 

Looking north from near the spot where I got above the cirque. The South Cascade Glacier is over this ridge/mountain. 

Small waterfall just below lower lake at the head of Downey Creek. 

The lower, southern "lake" at the head of Downey Creek. This "lake" was more of a flat spot in the stream but it was mapped as a body of standing water so it was on my list to do. 

Looking west from lower lake, Mount Buckindy in the distance. The talus patch lower in the frame towards the center is where I got above the cirque. 

Looking west from above outlet of lower lake zoomed in on peak between Bench and Woods Lakes. This particular peak doesn't have a name that I am aware of. Mount Bruseth is just visible above the ridgeline to the right side of it. 

Looking north from above outlet of lower lake. 

Looking east at lower lake. 

Lower lake. 

Lower lake.

Lower lake.

Looking west at lower lake. 

Looking west at lower lake. 

Looking north en route to upper lake/pond. 

Looking south en route to upper lake. This peak dominates the area but doesn't have a name that I am aware of. White Rock Lakes are on the other side of it to the left or northeast. I took a number of photos of this peak and have included many because I thought it was really interesting how its look changed as the light changed as the clouds drifted over. 

Looking west. The small ridge in the foreground helps form the upper lake/pond. 

Looking south. 

Looking roughly north at the upper lake/pond. 

Goat wallow on hillock above upper lake. 

Looking east at basin of upper lake. 

Looking west at upper lake. 

Looking west. 

Looking east. 

Looking south. 

Looking south. 

Looking southeast. 

Looking east. 

On the way out. 

On the way out. 

Looking east and upstream at the cirque on Upper Downey Creek on the way out. The notch where I got through is near center frame.